Has Needing To Use A Launcher App/Account Stopped You From Playing A Game?

I’ve been on a harrowing journey, and Dragon Age has defeated me.

Since playing Origins in like 2011, I’ve been a fan of Dragon Age. Everyone seems to dislike one or the other, but I really like all the Dragon Age games in their own ways. That said, it’s been a long time and I’ve play a lot of RPGs since, so in some ways my love for the franchise has waned somewhat. I’d love to rekindle that joy - remind myself why I fell for the world back in the day.

With Dreadwolf - sorry, The Veilguard - coming soon and never having played through Trespasser, I figured it’s time to catch up.

I originally bought Inquisition on PC. Having wiped the install years back, I needed to re-download. Back in ye olden days of 2014, EA games were only purchased through their own propriety app. With Origin still being installed (what’s the opposite of RIP? BIH - Burn In Hell?) the first step was remove that and find the new EA app. Annoying, but fine. Frustration Level: 1.

Trying to log in, I’m told my credentials have expired and need resetting. Look, I get it - it's been a minute since I logged into these things, so probably a good idea anyway. Again, it's annoying, but I go through the rigmarole and reset. Frustration Level: 2.

After finally getting logged in, I'm able to find Inquisition, and re-download. Huzzah! Of course however, it's a good 45gb, which on a 50Mbps connection is still gonna take a while. I leave it download overnight - tomorrow I'll check it out.

After a long day at work, cooking dinner (tacos, if you were wondering) and hanging with the fam for a bit, it's time to check back in. I attempt to boot the game. It errors out on a DirectX error. Fantastic. Frustration Level: 3.

After over an hour of googling and troubleshooting, I've rebooted my PC, tried different display cables, attempted windowed mode boots, played around with Nvidia settings and drivers, installed and reinstalled DirectX, ran the "repair" option on the game - still no luck. I'm just trying to enjoy what I have left of the night, so as I reach Frustration Level: 4, I give up. 

I remember that a year or two ago, I purchased the GOTY edition of Inquisition on PS4 when it was hella cheap, with the intent to replay it there. Though I know it was released way before the push for cross play and cross save, the imagination of the idea that I could pick up my 100 hour playthrough has me boot it up there to pretend to check before inevitably just starting fresh. Why not, right?

Hitting the title screen, the game asks to login to EA servers. I go through the steps, agree to the EULA, put in my login email and enter the password.

"Wait, you wanted to login? Sorry, but your password is expired! You're going to have to reset that bad boy before you can continue my friend!"

The game taunts me.

I don't know where I was going with the Frustration Level idea, but at this point, resignation has well and truly set in. I close the game.

I've got a shortlist of upcoming games to keep an eye on their releases. I remove Veilguard from it.

I feel defeated.

Please tell me I'm not the only one.